


The Darkness Within

by InsomniacTiger



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anti-Form Sora, Friendship, Implied/Referenced Torture, Post-Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, Protective Riku (Kingdom Hearts)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-10-29 20:04:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17814617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsomniacTiger/pseuds/InsomniacTiger
Summary: After failing to pass the Mark of Mastery, Sora has been busy dispatching small heartless all over the worlds. But something is wrong, whenever he uses his Drive Forms he reverts back with no memory of the battle. When he goes missing his friends begin to search for him, but what they find is horrifying.





	1. Darkside

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted back in September 2017, now getting updated.

 

* * *

_Indigo colored comets crash-landed into the black sea. He was already knee-deep in the freezing liquid, but the water was rising higher with every fallen star. Soon the comets, similar to how raindrops smashed on pavement, were pelting the water. Raising his face toward the collapsing sky one last time, he felt his body being pulled into the darkness. Drowning… further… the cold seeping into his every pore. It didn't really matter. The darkness had no hold on him. He was a warrior of the light. The darkness… was his enemy._

_The darkness had no hold on him_.

_The darkness…_

* * *

"Uh… heya Donald?"

"What?" The duck muttered irritably.

"Did ya think Sora's last form change seemed a bit odd…?"

Goofy's voice was a whisper, but Donald couldn't help but glance at the spikey haired youth walking several feet ahead of them. Dropping back a few more feet Donald nodded in agreement to his much taller companion's words.

"They've gotten stronger."

"Yeah. But I meant his eyes. They changed color."

"Its magic from Master Yensid. Its probably just a weird side effect."

"I – uh – don't think that-"

"Aw, what do you know, you big palooka?"

As always that seemed to stump Goofy as a legitimate question. Donald knew that Dippy Dog here was only trying to look out for him. Sora was their friend for sure, but he was still young. Not that the duck would consider himself or his lankier comrade _old_ , but he would definitely admit that they had been around the block a few times. If the magic was from Master Yensid it had to be safe. Any side effects the boy may or may not be experiencing had to have been simply from lack of experience in magic.

Sora had only been using magic for a couple years. That's all it was. Donald stole another glance at his friend. Though he trusted Goofy with his life, he didn't quite trust the Goof to keep his giant mouth shut. If Sora knew that they had doubts about him after fighting together for almost three years now he would be heart broken. The youth was strong in every way, but he cared about every single person he met, which in Donald's eyes was too much. However, he was a Keyblade wielder, so maybe that's part of it.

"Let's stop here to eat." Sora was looking at a noodles-to-go shop in the Second District of Traverse Town.

"Sora." Donald scolded. "We are on a mission for Master Yensid."

Sora sighed. "Its not like he said we _couldn't_ eat."

"If we just go look into whatever was causing those disturbances real quick maybe we can eat after?" Goofy offered as a compromise.

"Besides, we are here because _someone_ failed their Mark of Mastery exam."

Sora's face puffed up in anger. "Hey! That wasn't totally my fault."

"Right. Riku passed."

"I'll get it next time!"

"Sure sure."

"Hey you Duck-!"

"Ain't that a heartless?" Goofy interrupted.

They stopped their spat and looked at where he was pointing. A large Darkside was just visible over one of the rooftops. A large grin formed on the Keyblade wielder's face. "Let's go!"

The heartless was taken care of in just a few moments. It had summoned a swarm of Shadows, but they were used to handling them as well.

Sora had his arms crossed behind his head and was sighing at Donald. "I don't know why you didn't heal me."

Donald squawked indignantly. "You are perfectly capable of using Cure yourself. I've seen it you know!"

"I was busy fighting!"

"And what do you think I was doing?!"

Sora stared blankly at the Duck. "What _do_ you do when I'm fighting?"

Goofy grabbed Donald before he could attack Sora. Their spikey hair friend laughed casually strolling away.

"He failed the Mark of Mastery because we weren't there to hold his hands." Donald grumbled.

Goofy decided silence was the best coarse of action here.

Screams broke out from right where they had just come from. Turning they saw that four more Darksides were now causing havoc. With a nod at his companions Sora summoned his Keyblade and led their charge back into the battle. They could handle the heartless. They really could. But every time they took out one, three more seemed to appear in the small area.

"It's like that Hydra." Sora panted glancing over at where Donald was guarding over Goofy as he recovered from a particularly nasty blow.

"Yeah. So stop taking them out!"

"Then what else am I supposed to do?! Jump on their backs?!"

Donald gave him a withering look. Making jokes even now... "I don't know! But if too many more appear there won't be anything left of this world!"

Sora looked around. Donald was right. There was one other option… "I'm going to use a Drive Form."

Usually it wasn't a big deal. Donald and Goofy never minded sitting out for a moment as they lent Sora their magic and strength. But with how odd his transformations had been lately… "Wait Sora…"

"Sorry Donald – but there isn't time. I think I can do it in Master Form."

"Fine… but if it doesn't work, revert instantly."

Sora gave him a confused look but nodded in agreement before transforming. Whenever he transformed Donald felt like he was in a haze. Almost like an out of body experience as the youth borrowed their magic to unleash his Drive Forms. He saw the clothes Sora normally wore turn yellow and another Keyblade appeared in his hands. Next to him Goofy was still regaining his strength and becoming aware what exactly was happening. It seemed like seconds passed when he suddenly was back in the fight. Sora looked exhausted, but was still glaring determinedly at their foes. It seemed he had managed to take out about half of the Darksides. And the best part was that they didn't seem to be multiplying.

"See it worked!" Sora grinned.

Donald nodded. "But you are out of magic now."

Sora shook his head. "I've got a Recovery and some Ethers. It's no big deal. You guys alright if I go again?"

Goofy was clearly hesitant about it and Donald saw why. Their young friend's normally blue eyes seemed more of a yellow-green color. But the only way to get rid of these heartless for whatever reason was through Sora's Drive Forms. And besides Traverse Town was full of neon lights… maybe it was just the lighting of the town? Shrugging Donald gave him the go-ahead.

"It looks like we've got no other choice."

They watched as Sora consumed the Recovery item and the haze took over again. But something was wrong… this felt different. Why was everything going dark? Donald looked for Goofy but he couldn't see him in the dark haze. Even Sora who he could usually barely make out as he fought was gone. This was like when they were in the Realm of Darkness… it was cold. He tried to call out for Goofy but there was only silence. What had happened?

* * *

Sora looked around the empty Second District. The Darksides had been defeated, and looked like they weren't making any returns. In fact everything seemed peaceful once again. By the Gizmo Shop he saw a Moogle fly by. If they were out and about surely everything was safe again. Those little guys never came out at the hint of heartless. Where were Donald and Goofy? Looking around he saw them passed out by a bench.

"Hey!" He ran over and shook their shoulders. "Nice of you guys to take a nap right now!"

They slowly blinked their eyes as they returned to consciousness.

"Wha' happened…?" Goofy asked.

"You guys were sleeping while I did all the work!"

"No you wanted to use your Drive Form!" Donald spat jumping to his feet.

Sora looked confused for a moment then grinned. "Oh yeah. I forgot." He laughed. "Sorry guys. You good?"

"All is well." Goofy gave one of his classic dopey grins.

Donald just snorted as he started walking toward the First District doors. Behind him he heard the other two discussing food options and whether they should eat at a restaurant or in the Gummi Ship. Everything was definitely not ok. Why couldn't he remember any of that fight? And even worse – why did Sora seem to have no idea what happened? Even if he was in a Drive Form he was still in the fight. And while Sora was known to have his moments of ditzy-idiocy he was always focused during battle. This was possibly worse than he had originally thought.

* * *

"Hmm… that sure is strange" King Mickey agreed.

He and Donald were talking in the Library of Disney Castle.

"And you're sure Sora has no idea?"

Donald nodded. "With the exception of Riku and Kairi, Your Majesty, I would say Goofy and I know him better than anyone. He didn't even remember he used a Drive Form when he woke us up."

The King stared hard at the floor as he thought it over. "I would say you are right to be worried. Hopefully it isn't anything serious. I will bring it up in my meeting with Master Yensid this evening however."

"And what about Sora?" Donald asked hesitantly.

"You said this only is in issue with Drive Forms right?"

"Yeah."

"Try to keep him out of fights for now, but if he's got to then just keep him from using his Drive Forms."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

* * *

"That is weird." Kairi agreed as they watched the sunset from the paopu tree on Destiny Islands.

"I mean, I would never call Donald a liar. Maybe an exaggerator… _by a lot_. But I don't remember using a Drive Form." Sora had his fingers laced behind his head as he leaned against the trunk next to her legs.

"You're probably just tired. Master Yensid has had you doing a lot of odd jobs lately."

"Yeah well Riku's been so busy with all those Keyblade Master duties that someone's got to pick up the slack." He shot her a huge grin over his shoulder.

Kairi chuckled. One of the things that were most admirable about Sora was that he never seemed to be jealous. Not once since Riku had been deemed a Keyblade Master did Sora do anything but congratulate and encourage his best friend. He was always as happy about Riku's accomplishments as if they were his own.

"Just don't work yourself into an early grave. We still need you around."

"Cause you'd miss me?" Another large grin.

"No. Because we need Seven Guardians of Light."

"Aww that's just mean Kairi!" He mock pouted.

She giggled. "Well maybe I'd miss you a bit."

Sora's pocket started chiming. He pulled out the small communicator that Chip and Dale had made for him. "Hello?"

"Hey Sora!" The chipmunk twins greeted. "Master Yensid wants you to look into a weird reading in Radiant Garden!"

"Roger that."

As he put the device back in his pocket he heard Kairi sigh. "Another one? You just got back! And Riku will be home any day now!"

"Sorry Kairi. I'll make it real quick. Promise! Maybe I'll make it back the same time as Riku!"

"You better." She tried to sound stern.

"Do I get a goodbye hug?"

"No." She remained seated. "You get welcome back hugs. So hurry back."

He laughed. "I'll be as fast as I can."

"Don't do anything stupid!" She called to him as he headed away from the tree.

"Do I ever?" He laughed.

"Yes." She said under her breath. "Yes you do."

* * *

Normally Sora called Donald and Goofy to pick him up in their Gummi ship for missions. But Chip and Dale seemed to think he could handle this one solo and had lent him one of their extras. The reading on the ships monitors did look pretty small. But heartless tended to only get worse if they weren't cut off. How did Axel describe it before? Nip it in the bud. He laughed as he realized that he had the phrase _memorized_. Axel – or rather Lea – would be proud.

When he landed in Radiant Garden he headed for Merlin's house, the base for the Restoration Committee. Inside though he found that only Aerith was still there.

"Sora? We weren't expecting you." The kind woman said in her soft voice.

"Master Yensid sent me. Said there was some weird reading. I came just in case."

Aerith looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "Maybe Leon would know… he's at the castle helping restore the old library."

"Thanks Aerith!" Sora headed for the door.

"Sora?"

"Yeah?" He looked back and saw the worry in her gaze.

"Are you feeling alright?"

He gave his biggest smile to reassure her. "Right as rain. Why do you ask?"

She frowned. "I'm not sure… something just feels off…"

"Maybe you've been working too hard." He crossed his arms. "The place looks great."

"Thanks. You're always so kind." She smiled. "I've held you up enough. Go find Leon."

Leon was in the old library. Some of the shelving had been wrecked beyond repair and the leader of the Restoration Committee was currently hard at work building new shelves for the old books that had been neatly piled up all over the room. Sora waited till the man set down a circular saw that he was using to cut out another shelf.

"Sora." He greeted pulling a black bandana out of his pocket and wiped the sweat from his forehead and neck. "What brings you here?"

The young Keyblade wielder explained the situation again.

"I haven't heard from Cid… but if Master Yensid sent you it's worth looking into I suppose. Follow me to Ansem's Study."

Once there, Cid gave a gruff greeting and pulled up the monitor that Leon indicated.

"Course I saw that blip. But it was so tiny I didn't think much of it." Cid grunted.

"Well I'll look into it." Sora said.

"Do what you got to do kid."

"I'll be back in the Library if you need me." Leon said before leaving.

"Hey Cid?" Sora looked at the computer himself, but too much was happening for him to make sense of it. "How small is this 'blip'?"

"Tiny."

"Ok. Thanks."

"See ya around kiddo."

As Sora headed for the Great Maw where the blip had been, he couldn't help but pout a little. He knew that he wasn't a Keyblade Master… but surely Master Yensid could give him slightly more important tasks? If he walked all the way out there for a few Shadows he was going to be really bummed out. Not that he necessarily wanted a big fight right now. But he wanted to do something important again. It felt like _forever_ since he had done anything really worthwhile. He knew that every heartless that he took out was important. But it felt like child's play compared to what he had done in the past.

When it was just him, Donald and Goofy they went where they wanted and did what they wanted, mostly. They were still saving the worlds, but they didn't have someone telling them that they couldn't handle it. Actually they had lots of people wondering if they were capable, but together they always managed to pull through. He knew that Master Yensid was wise, and if he thought this is what Sora needed to be doing then he was probably one hundred percent right. But it still hurt that he couldn't be helping with something bigger than dispatching a couple weak heartless here and there.

Upon arriving at his destination he looked around and saw nothing.

"Great… did I seriously come all the way out here because of some faulty machines?" He grumbled. "Stupid computers."

No sooner did he say it though a large portal of darkness opened up allowing tons of shadows to creep out.

"Just some small fry? No big deal." He summoned his Keyblade.

* * *

"I knew he had nothing in that head of his." Riku laughed as Kairi informed him of Sora's latest escapade.

"I'm kind of worried though." She bit her lip as she stared at the food in front of her. They were eating dinner at a small café on the main island. "He seemed really tired. And something about him just seemed off."

"Like how?" Riku asked before taking a huge bite of his burger.

"I don't know how to describe it really… it wasn't in his actions… oh! It was his eyes!"

Riku swallowed his food and stared at her. "What about them?"

"They were so tired. And they seemed a little off colored. At the time I just figured it was the red sunset, but now that I think about it his eyes don't usually turn that yellow then. Their usually just a darker blue…"

"Yellow eyes?"

She nodded.

"Where is he now?" Riku called the waiter for the check and quickly handed over the right amount of munny.

"Radiant Garden… Something about a weird reading?"

"I'm going to go check on him."

"You just got back! Wait – is this really bad?" Kairi followed him at his fast pace out the door.

"Probably not. I mean its Sora…" Riku muttered. "But maybe. I just want to be sure. We'll be right back."

"Take me with you!"

"This will be fast. Besides, you have training with Master Yensid soon."

Kairi huffed. "You always leave me behind!"

"And somehow you always meet us at the end." He smirked.

"Because I get kidnapped!" She snapped.

"Then maybe you should stay and train." He pointed out. "I know you're already strong, but you could afford to get stronger."

Crossing her arms defiantly she glared at him. How dare he make a really good point and give her nothing to argue with? "Fine. But you better be back really soon!"

"I will." He nodded before taking off.

* * *

Why were the Shadows still coming? Radiant Garden had been doing so well! It wasn't that he couldn't handle it. But they were starting to break off into multiple swarms and he really was more tired than he thought he had been. A small part of him had hoped maybe Cid would notice something was up and send Leon. Or even Yuffie. But it was just him. Slicing through several more and rolling past a swarm attack he felt his Drive Form ready for activation.

_But without Donald and Goofy to help… I suppose I always have Limit Form…_

He couldn't name it, but something felt wrong with it. When he reached out with his magic to it there was a tint of something he wasn't familiar with. Was he so tired his magic was being effected? That was certainly possible… But if he just finished clearing these guys then he could go home. Riku and Kairi were waiting for him. Maybe a nap first though...

_I'll just use the Limit Form and get out of here._

* * *

Riku looked around and found himself surrounded by a few shops in Radiant Garden. He wasn't especially familiar with this part of the world. The last time he had been here he had been consumed with the power of darkness… Not a time he particularly liked to remember. And there was very little left of the world at that point. Maleficent had only needed the castle, so that's where he had remained. Asking for directions couldn't hurt though… A young woman with long brown hair and friendly eyes was shopping nearby.

"Excuse me miss?"

She looked at him with a smile. "Oh. Hello Riku."

"Uh – hi. How did you know...?"

She gave him an almost sad smile. "If you are looking for him I think he is with Leon."

"Could you tell me how to find this Leon?"

She nodded. "Sure. I am heading that way myself."

As they passed a small cluster of houses Riku saw two very familiar someones. "Donald! Goofy!"

They looked at him in surprise.

"Riku?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Sora. Where is he?"

Goofy shrugged.

"Not with us." Donald sighed. "We were on our way to the castle Library to ask Leon."

"Hello Aerith." Goofy nodded at the woman.

"Hello Donald, Goofy. Could you take this Riku to Leon for me then? I have some business with Merlin."

The two nodded then started to walk toward a staircase.

"Riku…"

He looked back to see the woman with a troubled expression. "Help Sora please. He's done so much for us. And something feels off…"

He nodded then hurried after Donald and Goofy.

Leon didn't seem at all surprised to see them and sent them to the Great Maw, which is where Sora had gone apparently.

"Why didn't he call us if he had a mission?" Donald grumbled loudly.

"Chip n' Dale said that the reading was so small they figured he could handle it on his own." Goofy reminded him.

"That's not the point! He should know by now that whenever he tries to 'handle it himself' he just makes things worse!"

"What exactly is wrong?" Riku asked.

"There is something wrong with Sora's Drive Forms. When he activates them he is pulling on a thread of darkness from somewhere. Master Yensid just found out. He sent us to bring Sora back before he uses one."

"But doesn't he rely on you two for support when he does that?"

"Yeah. Except with Limit Form. He doesn't need us for that."

"And Sora's been more reliant on them recently for some reason." Goofy put in.

They hurried to the large space known as the Great Maw.

"There are Shadow heartless everywhere!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Sora!" Riku called out.

"I don't see him." Donald muttered.

"Lets get rid of these Shadows then look for him." Riku summoned Way to Dawn.

They worked together to get rid of the heartless. It was going well until Donald was sent flying backward.

"Did you see that? Was it a Neoshadow?" Goofy turned to look for it.

Riku felt a strong presence speeding toward him and threw up his Keyblade to block it just in time. It was a heartless. But it was Sora. It was his best friend, but his fingers had elongated to talons. His eyes had become yellow orbs. Darkness was seeping from every pore in wisps of black and blue.

"Sora!" Riku struggled to keep his Keyblade blocking the attacks.

He had seen this before… but it wasn't Sora then. Back in Neverland, on Captain Hook's ship. Riku had created a heartless in the likeness of Sora to attack his friend. This looked like that, but with much more detail. It still had his clothes, his chain with the crown pendant that he always wore. It was Sora… consumed by darkness in a way he had never seen before.

"Is that…?" Goofy looked over at Riku and his new opponent.

Donald used thunder on the last shadow and looked at where Goofy was pointing. "Oh no… we're too late…"

"SORA!" Riku shouted in his friend's face, but got no reaction other than another attack.

The Anti-Sora was attacking like a wild beast. He ran on all fours and swiped at them with his now talon-like hands.

"What do we do?" Goofy asked.

"I got it." Donald raised his wand and cast a powerful Sleep spell.

They watched as it slowly stopped bucking and curled up on its side asleep. As soon as it was unconscious the darkness vanished revealing their friend.

"What was that?" Riku looked over Sora checking his vitals to make sure he was all right, using a Cure just to be safe.

"Somehow, Sora is using dark power without even realizing it. I don't remember the exact details." Donald muttered. He had been in too much of a hurry to go find his young friend. "But we need to get him back to Master Yensid."

Riku lifted Sora in his arms cradling the smaller form against his chest as he followed Donald and Goofy back to their Gummi Ship. "It's always something with you isn't it?" He sighed.


	2. Restless

"The 'why' as to how this is possible, is fairly simple." Master Yensid intoned looking at his apprentice to see if he had come to the same conclusion.

Mickey frowned as he put in his thought on the matter. "It's got to be a lingering side effect from when Sora was a heartless."

"But Your Majesty," Donald was fidgeting irritably as usual. "How is that different then when Riku was possessed by Ansem - "

"I think it was Xehanort…" Goofy interjected.

"Shut-up Goofy! Or how is it different than Axel – _Lea_ being a heartless and nobody before? Does that mean _Lea_ will have these problems later as well?"

The scarlet haired man himself had been leaning on a bookcase on the side of the room, nodded in agreement. "Shrimp has a point. Am I going to go all yellow-eyed psycho on everyone too?"

"This is still just a hypothesis, but I assume this is an ailment that will solely effect Sora. While Mickey is correct in saying it has to do with him being a heartless previously, I would go further and say that it is a combination of things including his short time as a heartless, being a Keyblade wielder, and possibly the fact that it was by self-sacrifice that he became a heartless to begin with."

"So how do we fix it?" Riku asked.

Yensid gave him a long look before he replied. "I'm still unsure. For the time being he must _not_ use his Drive Forms. Preferably he needs to resist fighting all together. I believe he is due for a vacation anyway."

Riku nodded solemnly before leaving. They had all been working hard lately, but Sora did need a vacation. He wasn't sure where it was coming from, but he sensed something bigger coming for them. Whatever it turned out to be though, he knew he could count on his best friend being in the thick of it all. He ran a hand through his silver locks pushing some of his longer strands away from his face before entering the infirmary room where Sora was resting. Kairi was next to him on the bed as they laughed about something.

"Hey Riku! You're back! So can I get up now?" Sora asked eagerly at his friend's entrance.

Riku smirked. "We all know that you really just want to sleep more."

Kairi giggled. "You always have been a lazy bum, Sora."

"Am not!"

Riku pulled a chair over so that he could straddle it while resting his forearms over the back. "For real though, you are on vacation as of now." Sora opened his mouth but he quickly cut him off. "Or rather, you are suspended from fighting."

" _What_? Why?"

Riku tried to rub the exhaustion from his eyes. "Just do it. Ok?"

"Kairi! Tell him how stupid this is! I am perfectly fine!"

She struggled with a response and ended up looking at their silver-haired friend for help.

"I know you won't listen unless I give you a valid reason. So pay attention."

Sora nodded, not seeming to notice when Kairi grabbed hold of his hand.

"There is something wrong with your Drive Forms. And I won't go into all the details now because I know you won't understand it anyway."

"Hey-"

"But basically Sora, when you activate your Forms it pulls some thread of darkness into your magic. This thread is getting tangled tighter around your magic the more you use it. It is possessing you." His eyes flickered over to Kairi for a moment, not sure if he should say the rest in front of her but shrugged and plowed on. "You don't remember what happens when it's taken over because it isn't _you_ anymore. Back in Radiant Garden… you were not even human Sora. You were behaving like a rabid animal. On all fours and attacking with your hands. I'm pretty sure you tried to bite me at one point."

Sora was staring at his hands blankly trying to remember any of this.

"The point is Sora… until we get this sorted out, you need to stay out of any battles."

"Sure yeah. That makes sense." He shrugged with a smile.

Riku nodded sighing as he stood up stretching his arms above his head. "Great. Now I am going to get some sleep."

"Night!" Kairi waved. It wasn't really night time, but with all the missions he's had lately his sleep schedule depended more on when he had a chance to actually get some real REMs in.

There was a long moment of silence as Sora sorted through everything Riku had just dropped on him. Finally he grinned at Kairi. "So. Want to go work out? I am sick of this bed."

She nodded. "Sure! I'm supposed to get at least three miles in everyday anyway."

Sora hopped out of the bed and headed for the door, but paused before opening it.

"What's wrong?" Kairi peered up at his face.

"Kairi… what if they can't figure out what's wrong with me?" He asked quietly.

"I'm sure Master Yensid will figure it out."

"But what if he doesn't? What if I can't fight anymore? Xehanort is still out there and if I can't fight…"

She took his hand again to get his attention. His bright blue eyes locked onto hers. "Don't worry Sora! We've made it this far. Master Yensid will figure it out. And if he doesn't then we will. Everything will work out in the end. But worrying won't make it any better."

He smiled and squeezed her hand slightly. "Thanks Kairi. You're right of course. I don't know what I'm worrying about anyway."

"Good. Now come on. I think I'm getting faster than you!"

"Is that a challenge?"

"Think you can handle it?"

"You're on!"

* * *

"I was hoping to be partnered with Kairi…" Lea sighed as they fought a behemoth that was terrorizing the citizens of Port Royal.

Riku grunted. "Yeah? Become good friends have you?"

"Not especially. But it wouldn't hurt to get to know my comrades better right?"

"Of course not. But why don't you just join her for training? Sora says you could probably use it anyway. Which I'm definitely not arguing at this moment."

Lea smirked. "That's rich. If my memory serves me correctly… I beat him last time we fought."

"I'm sure he would say the same thing."

"The kid lives in denial."

"No. He lives under the end of a rainbow or something."

Lea barked a laugh. "He is too optimistic."

They timed their attacks so that they each gave one last rush at the large heartless before it was defeated. As they headed back to the Gummi ship Lea gave a large sigh.

"Any news on his condition?"

"Not yet. Master Yensid has been working on it day and night though."

"If only we knew someone who was well experienced in darkness possession…"

"Drop it Lea."

The red-haired man remained silent, but Riku knew it wouldn't last long. It never did.

* * *

Kairi was on her way to the showers after working out with Sora yet again. The poor guy was getting restless. Surely there was some mission that he could go on that didn't include fighting? Because even though she thought it was adorable that he insisted on helping her with her Keyblade training, his stir-crazy attitude was starting to drive her insane.

"I'm just saying – we need information on darkness possession for that spikey-haired idiot. And we know someone who has that kind of info." Lea's voice traveled from the Gummi ship hanger. _They must have just got back from their last mission._ Kairi guessed. _But what were they talking about?_

"Which spikey-haired idiot?" Riku sighed. "I know a couple."

"Ouch. I'm feeling the burn… Oh except, I don't get burns." Lea cracked himself up.

"We're back. Which means you can leave me alone now."

"I thought the whole emo-tough guy act was more of juvenile thing with you. I see its still going strong. Way to be consistent."

"Don't you have someone else to bug flame brain?"

"Fiiiine. You're so cold Riku. Maybe I can go rile up the _other_ spikey-haired idiot."

"Lea, don't tell the others what you were telling me."

"Yeah yeah. Whatever."

"As long as we're on the same page."

"Yep. Got it memorized."

"Seriously. Get a new catchphrase."

Lea laughed.

_Did Lea know someone who could help Sora? But if he did, why wasn't Riku jumping at the chance?_

"Hey Princess."

Kairi gave a surprised shriek as someone tapped her shoulder. Lea was smirking down at her.

"You normally just hangout in hallways staring at walls?"

"Of course not!" She snapped.

Lea grinned. "Oh? So then what are you up to?"

"I was just finishing up my work out and was on my way to the showers."

"Need some help?"

Kairi blushed as she glared at the man. "Of course not!"

"I meant with training." He sighed. "I'm no Keyblade Master or anything but getting into shape is something I'm no stranger to."

"I'm sorry… I'm still just… that's nice of you. Maybe I'll take you up on that."

His smile was so genuine it surprised her. "Good."

"What were you and Riku talking about just now?"

His green eyes gleamed back toward her. "Ah… so you _were_ eavesdropping. Curious to help your boyfriend?"

"Sora is not my boyfriend! And yes. I would like to help him. Because he's my friend."

"Poor guy. I'm sure he'll bounce back just fine though."

"What were you and Riku talking about?" She pressed ignoring his statement.

"Since you were eavesdropping that means you heard Mr. Grumpy Drawers back there say that I wasn't supposed to talk about it with you guys."

"And since when have you done what you're told?"

"Fair point. What do I get in return for the information?"

"Bargaining? Really?" Kairi sighed. "I thought you were past this."

"Old habits die hard."

"What do you want?"

He mulled it over for a moment. "A favor. To be called upon whenever I so desire it."

Hesitantly Kairi debated it. It was really too vague… with a favor, he could ask for anything. However, if he really were withholding information about someone that could help Sora then it would be worth it surely? How bad could the favor be in all honesty? … it could be bad. Very bad. But not helping Sora would be so much worse.

"Fine. We have a deal. Now tell me what you know about this person who could potentially help Sora."

Lea smirked. "Of course."

* * *

"Any mission, no matter how non-violent it seems, always has the possibility to turn into a battle. I realize you are getting bored Sora, and I apologize that I haven't figured this out sooner. But until we have a solid conclusion, I'm afraid we can't risk you using your magic." Master Yensid replied without even turning away from his books.

"Thank you for your time Master." Sora gave a short bow and then left. "Man, this is the worst! Working out is great. But training can only get you so far without some real experience to back it up…"

"Need a change of pace?" He looked over at the new voice.

"Kairi?"

His friend had changed back into her normal pink short dress. Though she was dressed in her usual street clothes, something seemed a little different. Probably just the fact that she was smiling and not threatening to beat him with her Keyblade after the training he had just put her through.

"Come on you lazy bum. Lets go do something."

"Like what? There isn't a whole lot to do in the Tower." He tried not to sound too grumpy.

"Then lets go somewhere else!"

He gave her a bewildered look. "You know I'm not supposed to leave the Tower till-"

"Just to the island?" She looked depressed all of a sudden. "Please Sora? I'm feeling homesick."

He hated seeing her look so sad. "Of course! It will have to be a quick trip though."

She perked up instantly. "Sure! Thanks! Besides, what could happen on our island? Its totally safe."

"That's true."

* * *

 

Goofy was just getting his shield from the Gummi ship where he had forgotten it when he heard the doors opening and another ship taking off. Sora and Kairi? Where could they be going? Wasn't Sora supposed to be staying in the tower? He shrugged and closed the door to Donald's Gummi ship before leaving to find his feathered friend. Kairi was a smart girl. If she was with him it couldn't be that big of a deal. He should probably mention it to Donald anyway. Just in case.

As he was walking up the staircases and through the halls he couldn't help but stop at every window at the amazing view that the Tower provided. The magic train chugged on by like it did at various times throughout the day. He was quite proud of himself as he reached the top floor; he'd only tripped on the stairs twice on the way up this time. As he was about to open the door to where Donald usually practiced his magic his communicator went off. It was Chip.

"Hey Goofy!"

"Heya Chip!"

"Is Donald with you?"

"Ahyuck. He's practicin' his magic right now."

"Great! Can you tell him that the King would like him and you to return to the Castle by tomorrow? He needs help with something in town."

"Sure thing!"

"Thanks!"

As Goofy entered the room he quickly threw up his shield as he was almost blasted with a blizzard spell.

"GOOFY! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO KNOCK FIRST SO I DON'T KILL YOU?!" Donald squawked.

"Gosh sorry Donald."

"Did you need something?" The Duck grumbled readjusting his hat.

"Did I need something…?" Goofy thought over why he had come in here. The blizzard attack had startled him. "Oh yeah! Chip called. He said the King would like us back at the Castle by tomorrow." Was there something else he was supposed to tell Donald…?

"Yeah? Ok. I'm done here anyway."

Kairi suddenly peeked into the room. "Have either of you seen Sora recently?"

"Oh yeah…" That's what it was. He was going to tell Donald that he'd seen Sora leaving the Tower with Kairi. But if Kairi was back already then Sora must be too. So it wasn't an issue anymore. Best to leave Kairi to deal with their young friend.

"Not here since he isn't supposed to be using his magic." Donald informed her gesturing to the sign that read "Magic Training Only".

She bit her lip. "Yeah I didn't think so. But he was just with me during training, and now I can't find him."

"He's probably being stupid thinking he can train to be a ninja or whatever again." Donald muttered.

She tried to stifle her laugh. "Good point. Alright. Thanks guys." Then she was gone again.

"Did you have something to say?" Donald glanced at his tall friend who was still staring at the door.

"Huh?" The Goof looked down at him confused.

"Never mind." Donald rolled his eyes. Idiots. Everywhere he looked.


	3. Captive

"Do you ever think that just sitting watching the sunset is an incredibly boring pastime?" Kairi groaned sagging against the tree's trunk.

Sora looked over at her surprised. "No. I've always enjoyed it. I thought you did too."

She dropped off the tree trunk with a dramatic sigh. "Nope. There has to be something more fun we can do."

"Like what?"

" _Surely_ we can think of something."

Sora just stared as his childhood friend slid closer to him.

"Well – uh – actually I think we should go back to the Tower. I told Master Yensid I wouldn't leave and I kind of feel bad that I did now…"

Kairi looked irritated for a moment, but then switched to a smile. "Lets go to the Secret Place. Please?"

Sora debated it. "For a minute… then we really do have to go. Ok?"

"Deal!"

Grabbing his hand she dragged him to the hollow area at the base of the tree. Sora always loved coming in here and looking at all their drawings. It always would astound him how the little light from the opening made it all to the back of the cave. It wasn't a particularly large spot, but it was deep.

"Its amazing… even in the darkest places, a little light always shines through." Sora smiled as he traced the outline of one of the older drawings.

"Right." Kairi was looking at something in one of the darker corners. "Look at this."

There was a swirling mass of shadows. "How – Kairi we got to go. That's a dark corridor. And I _really_ can't get in a fight right now. Remember? We need to go get Riku -"

"Lets just see where it goes, then we can come right back!"

"Kairi no."

"Just a quick peek." She grinned then hopped right through.

"Wait! Kairi!" He didn't hesitate to follow her through.

* * *

"Do you think I should tell Riku…?" Kairi fretted.

"Nah. Let the kid have a little freedom. He's been locked in this Tower almost as bad as this princess I once heard of back in my Organization Boring Mission Days." Lea yawned covering his face with the book he was supposed to be reading. "Freakish hair."

"A princess? Which one? We met a few once!"

"She's not one of the Seven. Probably."

Kairi wanted to question him further but was still worried about Sora. "So it's normal for him to not listen to a direct order from Master Yensid and to go off without telling anyone where he went?"

"Well when you put it that way… you might want to mention it to the Control Freak."

"That's what I thought." She stood up leaving the library.

* * *

Riku was working out in the gym when Kairi ran in. "Hey Riku, can I ask you something?"

Grabbing the towel by his feet he wiped the sweat from his neck and forehead before pulling on a t-shirt. "Yeah. What's going on?" He noticed her nervous habit of twisting a strand of hair and staring at his feet instead of looking him in the eye. "Are you ok?"

"I am! But I was just wondering that maybe if it was normal for some people to get super stir-crazy and then maybe even if the guy or some person was normally a really good person who always listened to people and whatever if maybe he would still run off without telling anyone even his best friends and then maybe he-"

"Sora left the tower and you haven't heard from him for how long?"

"It's been at least twelve hours."

"I'm going."

* * *

His head hurt so badly. What happened? Kairi and him had been on the island. Then there was that dark corridor... Oh right! Kairi had jumped and when he followed her he'd blacked out. Leaping to his feet he looked around.

"Kairi!"

He was in a small room with spotless white walls. No windows, and no apparent doors. As he looked around he realized his wrists had cuffs that were chained to the wall. _How stupid. I'll just summon the Keyblade, unlock these, and then go find Kairi._ When he tried to summon it though nothing happened.

"What's going on?" He muttered.

"Having issues?" A portal opened in front of him.

Of course it was a person with a black coat. _It's_ _ **always**_ _a person in a black coat._

"Seriously. You guys need to shop somewhere else. The 'mysterious black coat' is getting really old." Sora rolled his eyes.

"My apologies. I'll bring that up at the next 'mysterious black coat' convention." The man replied drily.

"Do you guys use some kind of magic to block your faces when you have those hoods up? Or is there some kind of material blocking your face that we haven't noticed?"

"Its just convenient that way."

"Where's Kairi?!"

"Right here." The hooded person pulled Kairi out of the portal behind him.

Sora lurched forward the cuffs rubbing painfully on his wrists. "Kairi! Are you ok?"

"Sure. Yeah." She looked bored.

The Keyblade wielder looked confused. "Who are you? You're not Kairi."

The look-alike rolled her eyes. "Its about time. You are a lot more dense then they said you were."

"Where is my Kairi?"

The girl shrugged. "I don't know. Probably at that stupid Tower."

Sora sat down again. "So she's safe? That's good." He shook his head. "So why am I here?"

"Why do you think genius?"

"That's quite enough from you." The hooded person pressed a spot on her neck and she collapsed to the floor. "Your voice grates on my ears." The person kicked her back through the portal.

"What? She's on your side!" Sora stared in disbelief.

"I am well aware."

"How could you treat a comrade like they were garbage like that?"

"Because she is." They shrugged. "We only came before you now so you knew your situation. Don't bother trying to escape. There is darkness infused in the cuffs blocking out your magic." The person began to leave.

"Wait! You're just going to leave me in here?"

"Of course."

Before Sora could protest further the portal evaporated leaving him all alone once again.

* * *

"Where is that idiot?" Riku growled scanning yet another world for signs of a Gummi ship.

The communicator rang.

"Hello?"

"Heya Riku. It's Dale! I had a quick favor to ask of you."

"What's going on?"

"There was a slight blip on one of my scanners. And it's probably nothing. But Chip will kill me if I just let it go and it turned out to be something. So I was hoping that you could check out your island for me? There was a darkness reading there several hours ago. It was so small I nearly missed it. So it's probably nothing. But I saw that you had taken your Gummi out and I was hoping - "

"Yep. I'll check it out."

"Thanks Riku!"

The Keyblade Master sighed as he hung up. _Why did everyone suddenly become overly wordy when there was a potential emergency? There are simpler ways to put things._ He changed his course for toward Destiny Island. _Was Sora on the island? Why would he leave? The idiot wasn't exactly known for following directions, but he had known the seriousness of his current situation._

When he finally made it to their home he walked around but couldn't find anything. There was definitely a strange lingering coldness in the Secret Place, but once he made sure the Keyhole was still sealed he didn't see the need to stay. Growling he headed debated going back to the ship.

"What is that?" He inspected the walls closer. "Its darkness. I know it. But the Keyhole is fine…"

Walking around he felt along the walls. He'd spent long enough in the darkness to know the smell. It was here. But it was faint. Whatever was here wasn't planning on returning, it had just been passing through. If it didn't leave a trail to follow back then did it really matter? Of course with Sora missing this was really too suspicious and needed to be followed. But he didn't have any control over the darkness anymore. Before he could have taken this residue and magnified the amount of darkness so that he could follow it.

"Is it really worth accepting the darkness again to follow him?" He muttered.

Of course it was worth it. He'd do it a hundred times over if that was what it took to keep him safe. But he remembered Mickey's words not too long ago…

" _You don't belong in the darkness anymore Riku."_

His Majesty was right. He would find Sora and bring him back safely. No matter what. And he would stay true to the light to make sure it got done. His heart didn't belong to the darkness anymore.

* * *

"Tell me if this hurts." The man in the coat said as he attached yet another device around Sora's wrists.

"Why should I?" Sora grumbled. It felt like he had been in here for days… but he likely hadn't considering he wasn't even that hungry yet...

"Because I do so delight in it."

Sora was used to Riku's sarcasm, but this guy's tone hardly changed. Was he really that sadistic? Or was he just saying that?

"Is it going to hurt…?" Sora looked at the thick cuffs that stretched from his wrists nearly up to his elbows.

"That is not its purpose. However it may occur. Although I am positive my calculations are flawless, it hasn't been tested."

"What is its purpose?" Sora yanked at his restraints again. He had thought being stuck in the Tower was bad. This was clearly so much worse.

"To bring out the darkness within you." The man answered as he stepped back looking at his work.

"Uh – no thanks."

"I don't believe I gave you the option. It's happening. So you may as well enjoy the ride."

"I'm going to-"

"What? Swing your scary Key at me? I'll manage. Now lets see these lovelies in action."

Sora opened his mouth to give what he thought was an appropriately snarky reply, something even Riku might've been impressed with once, but suddenly he felt a coldness enter his veins. It started in his wrists, but worked its way quickly through his whole body. The iciness felt like it was freezing and burning him from the inside out all at once. In no time at all he felt the haziness taking over. The last thing he clearly registered before blacking out was the mysterious man's words.

"Oh what a magnificent transformation. I knew you were the one for this Sora..."


	4. Test Run

"You need to rest."

"With all due respect," Riku stifled a yawn with a flare of irrational anger at how he could possibly be tired right now. "Sora is still missing Master. It's been two weeks and there hasn't even been a hint of him."

Master Yensid nodded slowly. "I am aware of the situation Riku. But you need to remember that your physical and mental health relies on getting proper rest. It's not a request, but an order. You _must_ go rest."

Riku debated arguing further, but knew he wouldn't win. "Yes Master." He gave a brief bow then left.

He passed many rooms on the way to his own, and when he passed Kairi's he saw the light was still on in hers. Pausing for a moment he heard her practicing her magic inside. She had been contained to the Tower as well now that Sora was missing. It was too risky to have her in the field when she was still so inexperienced. He knew that she wasn't happy that she wasn't allowed to help him look for their friend, but unlike Sora, she realized the danger and remained within the Tower like Master Yensid had asked of her.

When he finally got to his room he considered cleaning the place up a bit, but decided against it and crashed on his bed. He hated not being out looking for Sora. There was the time when Sora was in the pod to regain his memories, but at least Riku knew where he was then. He knew that even if his friend was unconscious, he was safe. That's what mattered. Yawning again Riku rolled on to his side and closed his eyes. Maybe the Master had a point about needing rest…

* * *

Jolting awake at the sound of his communicator Riku blindly reached for the device on the nightstand.

"Hello?"

"Hey Riku! It's Chip! You got a minute?"

"Sure."

"I know you've been super busy lately. But I'm picking up a large darkness reading in Agrabah. Do you have time to check it out? I hate to bug you with it, but the King is busy and Donald and Goofy are still in Wonderland."

Riku rolled out of his bed. "Yeah I'm on it."

"Thank you!"

"Sure." He hung up.

In Agrabah? It was probably another desert heartless. They showed up every once in awhile. Hopefully it wasn't too close to the marketplace.

* * *

"Why are we here again?" Goofy looked up at the mushroom towering over them.

"We're looking for that stupid spikey-haired idiot." Donald grumbled.

"Why would Sora come to Wonderland?"

"Well he wasn't in Deep Jungle!"

Goofy nodded. "What about Atlantica?"

Donald shuddered. "Let's save that for absolute worst case scenario."

"Well if we're gonna be lookin' everywhere-"

"We will save it for the last place we look ok!?" Donald snapped.

Goofy shrugged. He didn't understand the hate that Sora and Donald shared about visiting Atlantica. It wasn't _that_ hard getting around as a fish. Was it?

"Do ya think he's ok?" Goofy asked trying not to sound as worried as he really was for their young friend.

"I'm sure he's fine." Donald waved off. "But lets keep looking just in case he isn't just messing around." Though he pulled off sounding uncaring, he was just the opposite. Sora would never just take off for so long without at least letting them know where he was going or giving them an update.

"I hope we find him soon." Goofy sighed.

"Me too."

* * *

There had been at least seven giant shadow heartless swarms invading the town of Agrabah. Aladdin had been seen in the mess trying to fight them off too little avail. Every time the Genie snapped his fingers to vanish them two more swarms appeared. After many tedious hours they finally cleared the town of the swarms and the citizens were safe to return to their daily lives.

"Thanks for your help." Aladdin shook his hand.

"Of course. I can't believe how out of control they were. Is this normal?" Riku looked about as the people began cleaning up as if this was a daily routine.

Aladdin scratched the back of his head. "It wasn't until about two weeks ago. It started as a few heartless running around causing mischief. And it's steadily grown to this."

Riku racked his brain of the villain that had tried to take over this world. Sora had told him a million stories of their adventures but they had began to get scrambled after awhile. "Was it Jafar?" Technically he had met the villains at one point while working alongside Maleficent, but he never bothered to remember their names.

Aladdin shook his head. "No. He's gone for good I think… I saw where the heartless came from, but it wasn't a person. It was kind of shaped like a person… but this was a beast. It stood on all fours and made this growling noise. Long talons and a lot of darkness just seeping from it. The heartless were obeying… that thing."

Riku crossed his arms and gave his best straight face expression. "Its head, did it have spikes?"

"Yeah. You've seen it before?"

"Unfortunately. You could say I'm hunting it right now."

"Good luck. One of the palace guards went after it the other day and it sent him flying into a building. Raoul will live, but he is definitely down for awhile."

"My apologies. I will come back to check on you guys soon if I haven't found it."

"Thanks. Good luck!"

"You might want to save some for yourself around here. But thanks."

As Riku got back to his Gummi ship he couldn't process it. The 'beast' was Sora surely. Somehow he had transformed back into that … _thing_ and was rampaging in Agrabah. Were other worlds in trouble from him as well? Was he stuck like that? Why had he used his magic in the first place? He knew what would happen, he'd been told and he had clearly understood. What would posses him to leave and then use it? What kind of trouble had he gotten into that he needed to use magic? He needed to tell Master Yensid, but more than anything he wanted to go look for Sora now that he knew what to look for.

His communicator buzzed again.

_**Chip: If you are done in Agrabah something huge just started in the Pride Lands.** _

The Pride Lands? Sora had definitely mentioned that one. It was the odd world run by lions. Every bit of him despised the idea of having to turn into a lion, but it couldn't be helped. If his friend was there ensuing chaos then he had to go clean it up. _Like always…_

He quickly sent a reply to Chip to let the small chipmunk know that he was on his way to the troubled world.

* * *

"No sign of Mr. Hyper yet?" Lea leaned back on the couch in the sitting room.

"None." Kairi picked at the label of her water bottle.

"Strange. He usually bounces right back."

Kairi nodded. "If he went somewhere it must be important."

"Or he's in trouble."

She shot him a glare. "You said you knew someone who could help."

"I do." He looked out the window at the mysterious landscape. "But the punk's got to be present for it to work."

Kairi sighed for the millionth time since Sora disappeared. "I hope he's ok…"

* * *

Sora woke up in his now familiar white cell room. His mind felt like someone had been mashing it with a hammer. Along with that, his skin felt like it had been turned to ice, but his blood was boiling. The weird contrast made him groan into the smooth floor where he was still lying.

"Oh dear. Did I push you too hard this time?"

Sora grunted.

"You should be thankful. I had originally wanted to test you on that underwater world but decided to save that for another day."

At the thought of having to the pain he currently possessed on top of the soreness that always followed a trip to Atlantica Sora groaned louder.

"Your meal is on the table in the corner. Rest up. Same thing tomorrow bright and early." Then he vanished into the darkness.

Sitting up he looked at what the food was.

_Unseasoned noodles again?!_

"Come on. At least give me decent food."

The jerk didn't even give him a side item.

"Some bread or rice or something would be nice!" Sora called not sure exactly if the man could hear him or not."Even some cheese."


	5. Scary Close

The oasis the Gummi ship had set him down in was beautiful. Green shrubbery and trees along with brightly colored flowers made the area very luxurious, much like a vacation spot. Turning his head at a familiar sound he found a little waterfall spilling into a small pond that was little more than a watering hole. All of his senses were overwhelming him. Everything was louder, things were clearer to see, smells were everywhere and he didn't recognize a single one. When he went to sit he stumbled. Looking down he saw his feet had been replaced by… paws. Furry lion paws.

"No..." He groaned.

Taking a few hesitant steps he made it over to the pond and cringed at his reflection. A lion was staring back at him. A very odd looking lion in his opinion. Light grey fur covered his body, a silvery mane with small rounded ears peeked out; his own bright blue eyes were at least the same. But the fangs were certainly new. And so were the sharp claws that had come along with having paws.

"Oh no…" Realization dawned on him.

Slowly turning his head he found a long tail with more silver fur fluffed at the end.

"I am literally going to kill Sora for this…" He growled, surprising himself at the beast-like growl that actually emerged. "How am I supposed to fight like this?" He looked back down at the claws. "I still have my magic… and these things have to be good for something." He resolved.

Leaving the safety of the oasis he explored further into the jungle. Everything seemed peaceful. Almost suspiciously so considering the heartless activity that had been recorded on the monitors for here.

"OW! Pumbaa! That's my foot!"

"Gee sorry Ti-"

"Shut-up! Or the lion will hear you!"

Smirking Riku glanced over at the particularly noisy bush. "I can hear you." He sat down wrapping his tail over his paws in what he hoped was a non-threatening way. How did body language work for lions anyway? "And I'm not hungry or anything, just looking for a friend."

A large reddish brown warthog and a slim meerkat that was oddly walking on two legs came out from behind the security of the bush. The meerkat, Timon, crossed his arms over his tiny chest giving him a critical expression. "Who ya lookin' for?"

"Uh – a lion about my age-"

"There's a lot of lions around here kid." Timon interrupted.

"His name is Sora."

"Never heard of him."

"Hey Timon…" The warthog was looking thoughtfully down at his friend. "Wasn't that the one little lion that helped Simba?"

Timon slammed a fist on his palm. "Now I remember. He was that one little lion who helped Simba back with the Scar thing." Timon hopped on top of his larger friend. "Follow us to Pride Rock. Simba could tell ya better if the kid has been around recently."

Riku followed them over the savannah toward the large rock structure deemed Pride Rock. As they approached the main platform, Riku noticed the many lionesses that had their eyes on him. At first he thought it was just because of how he was the only odd colored lion, but quickly realized it was likely because he was a strange male in their territory. Best to make this a quick trip. Hopefully this Simba didn't mind him being there too much considering he had no interest in staying longer than he needed to.

"How ya doin' pal?" Timon patted the leg of a large lion with a scarlet mane that was just waking up from a nap if the great stretching he was doing were any sign.

"Fine. But I thought you guys were going grub hunting?" The lion said as he shook his mane out.

"We were. But we found this guy here, Riku, and he was looking for ya."

The lion looked over at Riku suspiciously. "I'm sorry. Do I know you?"

"No…" Riku knew this had to be the Simba that had helped Sora out before Castle Oblivion. Then Sora had helped him save his home after the Keyblade wielder had woken up from his long deep sleep. "But I think you know my friend, Sora?"

Simba perked up instantly. "Sora? Sure! Is he here?"

Riku tried to hide his disappointment. "I'm looking for him. He's been missing for awhile now."

Simba shook his head. "I haven't seen him since the first time the heartless left."

"First time?"

"Recently they've started coming back around." A green-eyed lioness stepped up, a small cub hiding between her paws. "Its not as safe as it used to be. I'm Nala by the way."

_Just like Agrabah…_

"Has anything changed recently that would have brought them about? Anything strange?"

Simba nodded. "There have been reports of a black shadow lion racing across the savannahs. In his wake a dark trail is left which the heartless crawl out from."

That had to be Sora. "Has anyone come into contact with this shadow lion?"

"No. I don't want anyone getting hurt. Only hunting parties go out there now. And only in large groups with orders to retreat at any sign of this shadow lion."

Riku nodded. "That's probably for the best. I am hunting that particular shadow currently."

"Its Sora isn't it?" The lioness asked quietly.

Riku nodded. "It is. But it's also not him. He would never put anyone in harms way like that intentionally. Something is possessing him right now. I will do everything I can to get him back to normal. I promise."

"If you need anything let us know." Simba said seriously.

"Thank you. I will be back to check on you all soon. And even though it is Sora, do not approach him. He is beyond dangerous right now and he has the thoughts of a deranged animal. Do not think you can help him."

"Thank you Riku."

* * *

These close calls were getting ridiculous. How could Sora be everywhere, but at the same time not anywhere? Riku slammed a fist on his dashboard.

"At least I'm human again." He sighed.

He was on his way to Halloween Town. Another large heartless sighting. He desperately hoped that this one went better than the others had.

Upon landing he quickly realized that this world also required a change in his attire. His normal clothes had changed in color; they were now all black with a red spider-web like design added. Once again he found fangs invading his mouth. Along his back were wings reminiscent to Soul Eater, his first Keyblade.

"This is just perfect." He grumbled taking in his surroundings.

He was just outside of a gate that lead into the main part of the town. As he approached it, it slid up on its own allowing him entrance. This certainly was a spooky place. But what he noticed most of all was that it was crawling in heartless! As they begin to notice his presence they began attacking. He was thankful to realize that his Keyblade was normal and that the wings would not be a hinderance as he fought.

Out of nowhere a large fiery explosion went through the town taking out every single heartless. Riku looked around once he dropped his guard, not bothering to hide his shock at the sudden lack of heartless. "Whoa…"

A tall skeleton in a pinstriped suit with a large bat-bowtie emerged from the fountain in the center of the town. A fountain that was full a green slimy substance. Once he seemed to notice Riku he sauntered over on his extremely long legs.

"Greetings! I am Jack Skellington! Welcome to Halloween Town!"  
"I'm Riku." He shook the boney hand that was offered, noticing the long fingers.

"My apologies that we aren't prepared to properly scare you currently. The town is under some great stress at the moment."

"Where did all those heartless come from?"

The skeleton gave a large grin. "Ahh so you are familiar with our unwanted guests? I saw your weapon. You are like Sora correct?"

Riku nodded. "I am his friend, and am looking for him. Have you seen him?"

Jack looked around hesitantly. "Best to take this inside. Come along now!"

The tall figure led him up to a building with a thin doorway. Inside there was a long spiral staircase that led up a tower. On the top floor was what he assumed was Jack's bedroom, by the bed in the corner, but it also had a large table, a black board, bookcases, and near the bed was a dog bed and bowl that read _Zero_. On the black board were scribbles that were meaningless to Riku, except for two words that were clear as day to him.

**Trust Sora.**

"Can I offer you a bowl of worm's wart?" Jack was peering into a cauldron that was resting in the fireplace next to the bed.

"No thanks." Riku kept his face straight resisting the urge to gag.

"You sure? It was made by a dear friend of mine."

"I'm positive."

Jack shrugged and dipped a mug into the concoction and took a sip. "Anyway. You are here because you are looking for Sora? He comes here often lately, but he is not himself as I'm sure you are aware."

Riku nodded.

"Sora first showed up here about a month ago. Completely possessed by darkness. The heartless followed him and tore through the town. He came back a few more times, but one of those times he had a moment, it only lasted a few minutes, but he found me and explained the best he could. He is being controlled by an unknown entity. There are these strange devices attached to his wrists that force him back into the darkness. This person controlling him is using him to cause mayhem. He didn't have enough time to meet with Doctor Finkelstein to look at them, so I offered up Halloween Town as his place of destruction until he got it squared away."

"Why? Aren't you the leader of this town? Don't you have a responsibility to your citizens?"

One of Jack's eye sockets got larger. Riku realized if the skeleton had eyebrows, he would have just raised one at the question. "Of course I do. But as the King of Halloween I also have to remember my debts. And we owe Sora a great deal. Besides. Halloween Town is really the best place for him to let these beasts loose."

"Why? Won't they hurt your people?"

"Of course not." Jack gave a large grin that took over his face. Suddenly he pulled his head right off and tossed it up and down a few times before placing it back on his neck. "We are all dead here anyway. The heartless are more of a nuisance than anything."

"So…" Riku thought over what the skeleton was telling him, while at the same time trying to pretend that the little stunt he just pulled didn't completely freak him out. All things considering he thought he kept it together pretty well. After all, Jack was a skeleton. Of course he could do that… "So Sora letting them loose here isn't really hurting anything compared to if he went somewhere else."

Jack nodded. "If he went to Christmas Town for example, the heartless would really hurt Sandy and his elves. But they just get in our way around here. Not much more than that. And the Doctor has invented some _fantastic_ contraptions to scare them off! Like that fire canon from earlier!"

"Did Sora say anything about the person that was controlling him?"

"Unfortunately not. He showed me the cuffs he was wearing, but then he was dragged back into the dark beast mode and disappeared into the night."

"How often does he come here?"

"You just missed him." Jack gave a sympathetic look.

Riku's hand clenched tightly at his side.

"But he comes a few times a week. If you wait, eventually you will see him."

"Would you mind?"

"Not at all! A friend of Sora's is a friend of mine."

As Riku followed the tall figure to another building with spare bedrooms where he could stay he felt his hopes getting a little higher. He was so much closer to Sora. This was the strongest lead he'd had yet. Now all he had to do was be patient… he waited for Sora to wake up for a year. A few days? That was nothing.


	6. Haunting Pasts

Nothing had changed. So much time had passed since he had last walked these red tinted streets. The cobblestone beneath him still had the randomly placed uneven stones. The whole town felt warm and comforting. From a street away he could hear some kids playing. The town's clock tower bell chimed loudly marking the new hour. Despite the time change the sun remained in the same position in the sky. It always did. Eternal twilight. He loved Twilight Town. This in-between world. Not fully in the light like that island the kids were from, but not completely in the darkness like the World That Never Was had been. This was the perfect medium. So many memories…

_Right Roxas?_ Lea wistfully looked toward the clock tower.

Shoving his hands in the pockets of his Organization XIII coat he still wore he strolled down the street reminiscing of all the missions Saïx had sent the two of them on. The time before Roxas was fully aware of his own being and relied on his 'caretaker' Axel to look out for him. Even with simple things like remembering to eat and where his room was so that he could rest. It was always the two of them against everyone else.

Lea passed by the entrance blocked by a ratty blanket. The Usual Spot. That's what those kids had called it. _How original…_ Roxas had watched those three local teenagers play a lot when they had visited Twilight Town. Then he left the Organization. Riku had kidnapped him. Ansem the Wise had sent him into that datascape, erasing his memories of everything he had known. Erasing his memories of his life as Number XIII. When they had been friends. Best friends.

He remembered a particular fight, though for the life of him he couldn't remember exactly what they had gotten so worked up over.

_How can you be so calm!?_ He remembered how red Roxas's face had been, his eyes had even teared up. _Is it because Nobodies don't feel anything? Then why does it hurt so much?! I'm a Nobody too!_

Even at the time he remembered wondering if Roxas really was a Nobody. He remembered being bitterly grateful at the moment that he didn't have feelings, as he was a real Nobody.

_But that wasn't true either. Because seeing Roxas so upset…_

Snapping out of his reverie he continued walking down the path. There was a way to get Roxas back. There had to be. But he needed Sora for that to work. But once again the kid was MIA. Though Riku was looking for him and by now the Keyblade Master had developed a knack for hunting down his energetic friend. It would just take more time.

_I can be patient a little longer…_

* * *

"Yep. Riku says he found Sora. He's just having trouble bringing him back."

"Your Majesty," Donald asked. "Where is he? We could go help him."

"Unfortunately Riku says he needs to take care of it himself. And he took out the locator chip in his communicator a long time ago." Mickey shrugged apologetically.

Goofy frowned crossing his arms. "I don't think its'a good idea for him to be workin' on his own so much."

Mickey nodded in agreement. "We will help him where we can. Until then, we just gotta have faith in Riku."

Donald and Goofy nodded. "Yessir!"

* * *

"You look drained."

"And whose fault is that?" Sora grumbled from where he way lying on the floor.

"If you would just do as I ask this wouldn't be so painful for you now."

"I will not hurt my friends."

"When you are consumed by darkness they aren't your friends."

"They are _always_ my friends." Sora snapped getting to his knees then collapsing against the wall. "Nothing you or anyone will do can change that."

"Stubborn fool. You will waste away, your body failing, and none of these precious friends of yours will do a thing to save you."

"They will. I have faith in them."

The man laughed as he vanished. Sora still hadn't seen his face or learned a name.

"Got to remember to ask him next time…"

Shortly after a tray of food appeared. Noodles. Again.

"I need to get out of here just so I can get some real food." He grumbled scooping the noodles to his mouth then grimacing. "Real food that isn't burnt."

* * *

Riku had been in Halloween Town for three days when Sora arrived. Or rather – the dark beast that somewhat resembled his friend. There was no warning when the heartless came swarming through tearing into anything and everything they could. It was senseless violence. Sora had decided to target the town's central fountain by splashing around and clawing at the moving spout.

"SORA!" Riku ran over Keyblade in hand.

His friend's yellow eyes locked onto him before he launched himself toward Riku.

"Sora! You need to snap out of this!"

" _Sally_!"

Glancing in the direction of Jack Skellington's voice he saw a Neoshadow rip the ragdoll's arms off.

"No!" Riku blocked an attack. "Sora call them off! Sally is hurt!"

"Riii..." The beast groaned.

Riku kicked Sora backed and turned toward the tall skeleton. "Grab her and get out of here!"

Jack nodded collecting all of Sally and disappearing back in his house.

"Riii… ku."

Sora was back on all fours his head twisting back and forth violently.

"Sora! I know this is hard. But you can't let the darkness win." Riku grunted as he blocked an attack at his face.

This was different than the first time he had found his friend like this though. Before, Sora had been strong, wild, and out for blood. Even more vicious than most heartless were. Now he was still fighting, but he was staggering. Whenever one of his attacks was blocked he stumbled and struggled to bounce back. Whatever was possessing him was clearly exhausting him. Who knew how long he could last like this? Was waiting until he was too tired to fight the solution here?

Sora twitched where he lay in the dirt before rolling back on to his stomach trying to stand back up.

"Riiii… kuu."

"If you know its me then why are you still fighting me?" Riku shouted sending a blast of fire right past Sora causing his friend to jerk to the side and ultimately fall again.

"Heelll…" The yellow eyes met his.

"Yeah. Well this is no picnic for me either."

"Heelllp… Riii… kuu."

Clenching his fist Riku made up his mind right then. He had to. There were no more options. This wouldn't be the first time, and wouldn't be the last. But Sora needed him. Sora had asked for his help. He never did that. The stupid idiot thought he could take on the worlds and win on his own every time. Despite his belief in his friends, he would never ask them for help. For Sora, he would do this.

"Fine. I see how it is." Riku closed his eyes and reached deep into his heart. He felt that seedling that was nearly withered to nothing. Encouraging it to grow and sink roots he felt as it wrapped around his heart once again. This was it. This feeling that was as familiar as the back of his hand. This coldness that he swore he would avoid once he had basked in the warmth of light. This darkness didn't consume though. While it tangled inside he felt the light he had grown to trust twine itself along with it too. A balance. Something more controllable.

Tentacle like darkness erupted around Sora and clasped the tired body holding him still to the pavement.

"Only for you Sora." Riku felt his lips twitch in an almost smile. "Only you bring this out of me."

"How touching."

Turning quickly, Keyblade raised and ready Riku found a man in a black coat. "Seriously? A black coat? Does no one have any imagination anymore?"

"I've been told that I need new attire. Thank you."

"Are you the one who's done this to him?" Riku snapped.

"Yes. Isn't it magnificent? Practically a heartless pawn at this point. Though there are still some kinks to work out. Him being here _again_ has proven that he is still rebelling me."

"I won't let you take him." Riku made sure his bindings were tight around his friend as he stood over him. He would not make the mistake of charging this unknown enemy.

"I am just retrieving my property." The man shrugged. "Its rather amusing Riku. I remember your ties to the darkness being stronger than this. No matter. I wasn't looking for a fight today anyway. I'm sure we will meet annoyingly soon."

With that he vanished through a dark corridor. Looking behind him he saw the flickers of darkness where Sora had been.

_No!_ He'd had him! But he wasn't strong enough. He's never strong enough to protect what matters… Reaching toward the ground he tried to raise the corridor back to trace it to wherever his friend had been taken. Within him he could feel the darkness trying to overcome the light that had wrapped itself around it. He knew better now. He had spent enough time in the darkness to know when it was too much, when it was about to win. But he wasn't there yet. If he just reached into the blackness a _little_ further maybe he could reactivate this corridor...

"That's enough Riku."

"Mickey?" The King's voice surprised him causing him to turn his head, but he kept busy at what he was doing. 

The King was standing a few feet away with a sad look in his eyes. "Its time to come back to the Tower."

"NO! I can do this! He was right here!"

"Riku…" Mickey placed a hand on his shoulder. "Its time to go. We will get Sora back. I promise."

The King had long ago perfect casting spells without the need of his Keyblade in hand, and before he could counter the one he realized was coming he felt sleep taking over his body.

_No! Sora was right there!_

_Why?_

_Why... wasn't I strong enough?_


	7. Where is He?

"Come on… where is the flavorless noodles?" Sora whined.

"My wonderful cooking is reserved for guests who don't irritate me."

"Oh so there's more of us?" He tried to sound interested. But he hadn't been fed in three days and it was starting to really make him grumpy. But if there were more people they would need rescuing too. When Riku got here they could take care of it. 

And Riku  _was_ coming for him. He always did.

"That's none of your business. Do you know what _is_ your business?" The hooded man loomed closer.

The cuffs that Sora had grown so accustomed to at this point at been removed and replaced with thick metallic ones that were chained to the floor keeping him from standing up. When the kick to his ribs came he wasn't totally surprised. Up to this point his captor had not physically attacked him, but considering recent circumstances he expected some sort of punishment.

"The fact that your job is _so_ simple. You aren't even awake when it happens. I literally gave you the easiest job. Sure it tires your body, but its basically working out while you are sleeping. Its like every person's dream." He gave another kick to his ribs. "And you are still fighting me. I even had to go get you myself! That guy was going to take you from me."

"Riku. Riku was trying to help me." Sora muttered.

There was a growl. The man bent down, the ends of his coat fluttering, he reached out with a gloved hand and gripped Sora's chin. "You. Belong. To. Me. I created a wonderful weapon and you're one of many ingredients used to create my weapon." He punched him in the face. "I don't like hurting my weapon. But sometimes," he stood up shaking out his hand. "To make something even better, you have to take it apart. I thought that I was being kind, but clearly your freewill is too much for you to handle."

He sighed as he headed for his portal. "Now on top of everything else, you are making me do extra work. Rest up. Because I'm sure something unpleasant is coming your way soon."

Once he was gone Sora finally released the cough that he'd been trying to suppress. Blood splattered the floor beneath him. Did he break his ribs? Great.

Sora lifted his sore arms above his head to get a better look at them. Where the cuffs had been the skin was practically grey. He'd lost weight. And he gave up trying to stand on his own days ago. He needed to brace himself against the walls if he wanted to stand. It was disgusting. He was no help to anyone like this. When his friends did find him he would be more of a burden at this point anyway… What if they found him and he just turned around and attacked them?

Smacking his forehead he snapped out of the dreary thoughts.

No. His friends _would_ find him.

Then they would take out this guy once and for all.

And then he would eat like ten pizzas, thirty cheeseburgers, and twenty of every kind of sushi he could find.

He grinned. They were coming. He had faith in them.

Nobody was stronger than Riku.

Riku had almost had it once and he wouldn't fail next time. It wasn't his style.

* * *

"I had him! Sora is still in there! He spoke to me!" Riku slammed his hand on the Master's desk.

"This is good news Riku. However the fact of the matter is - you gave into the darkness yet again. While I know you only had good intentions, I have to reconsider your position as a Keyblade Master."

"FINE!" Riku roared. "Take the stupid title! I don't need it. My friend is out there in trouble and he needs me."

"Riku…" Mickey patted his arm. "Don't say something you'll regret later."

Riku glared at the bearded man before him, sighed and looked down at his much shorter friend. "Mickey. Thank you. But I am not following orders anymore. I am saving Sora."

The Mouse smiled. "I understand. Best of luck. And you know you can always ask me for help. Though we will all be doing our best to find Sora too!"

Riku smiled before walking out of the Tower.

This was it. He was going to do this his way. It hadn't been Plan A, but it would work better. It had to. For Sora.

* * *

It had been several months and no sign of Sora. In fact, there were no heartless anywhere. Everything had been surprisingly calm. And it didn't sit well with him. There was a reason it was called the 'calm before the storm'. What was that man planning? And where had he hid Sora while his preparations were taking place?

He had helped where he could.

He had stopped by Radiant Garden and assisted with rebuilding, as well as in Agrabah. Though most of the work had already been taken care of in the desert like town by a certain Genie. Aladdin continued to protest to his magical friend that the people of Agrabah could rebuild their own home. But on more then one occasion Riku had caught the large blue entity snapping his fingers to help along.

And though it pained him to do so he visited the Pride Lands again. It wasn't that he didn't like the world; he just would rather remain human as he visited. But he was well aware that even though Simba would probably accept him, it would make the other residents of the land nervous.

So with much stumbling he found himself climbing the steep incline to where the lions lived.

"Hello? Simba?" He called into the cave realizing that it was their home and it would be rude to just barge in.

Of course did animals have the same courtesies as people did? Or lions anyway?

There was a sudden pinching between his shoulder blades and a high-pitched snarl.

"Kiara!" Nala appeared from the cave. "You do _not_ attack our guests."

A small lion cub leapt from his back and sat grumpily in front of her mother. "But he's a stranger and dad's not here."

Nala barely managed to hide rolling her eyes. "That doesn't make you in charge of – never mind. This is Riku, he is a friend of your father's."

Warm russet eyes met with his. She was a feisty cub. That was for sure. And the fire he found in her small eyes was similar to that he remembered seeing in Sora's whenever they would duel back on the island. A time that felt like decades ago now.

"I was just checking to see if you guys had been having any problems lately?"

"Oh yeah! That's why dad's not here." Kiara began stalking his tail, which admittedly he had forgotten he had once again. "He's chasing them out of the savannah."

Riku slipped his tail out from under her paws just as she leapt. "What exactly is he chasing out?"

"Hyenas I believe. Nothing too terrible." Nala replied, giving a small nod in his direction.

_No heartless then._

The sudden pinch in his tail made him jump. Looking back he saw that the little lioness had gotten her small fangs into his tail.

"You are a hunter in the making aren't you?" He smirked.

"Not yet. You want to teach me?" She jumped up excitedly.

"I would love to, but … uh…"

Nala smiled, remembering another brown colored lion that stumbled into the Pride Lands with a couple of friends not knowing how to properly use his own paws.

"Maybe, if Riku has enough time, you could show him some of the hunting techniques I have shown you."

"But he's already a full grown lion." Kiara pouted confused.

"Unfortunately I have never had the pleasure of hunting." Riku admitted.

"Then how do you eat?"

"Um…" How else could he have been eating? He looked at Nala but she had chosen that moment to inspect something in the distance. "I just eat berries and such."

"No wonder your fur is so weird."

Riku was suddenly glad for the fur covering his face so no one could see his reddened cheeks. When they had been kids Sora had often made fun of his silver colored hair. It was one thing he still hadn't gotten over just yet.

"Kiara!" Nala scolded.

"Well it is!"

"Its ok. She's right. Maybe I need more meat in my diet." He smirked standing up.

"I'll show you how to hunt!" Kiara squealed taking off down the cliff side.

"If you don't mind watching her?" Nala sighed as another lioness came up to her with a question.

"Oh sure."

The young cub was a bundle of energy, but she did manage to show him how 'a proper adult lion' hunts. Or at least the easiest of the basics. Once he realized that it was basically a stealth operation, and the trick to keeping his paws silent, he managed to catch a starling. The small bird lay pinned beneath one of his paws as Kiara looked on.

"Wow! I've never managed to catch one! You really haven't hunted before? Maybe you could catch a whole antelope!"

He smirked down at her before letting the bird go, watching as it took to the sky instantly.

"Why'd you let it go?"

"I'm not hungry right now."

Kiara huffed as she sat down. "But it was your first catch!"

"There is no point in senseless killing. When I'm hungry I'll catch something again. But just because I caught it doesn't mean I have to kill it."

"You sound like my dad." She grunted.

"Your dad is a smart lion."

"That's what my mom says."

He chuckled as he nudged her slightly knocking her off her paws, before taking off toward Pride Rock. Eventually she caught up and managed to clamber on to his back so that he could carry her the rest of the way home.

Simba was talking with Nala when they approached the cave entrance.

"Riku! I see you brought my little monster back." He smirked as Kiara came crashing into him.

"She was teaching me how to hunt."

Simba laughed. "I bet she was." He crouched down so that they were eye level. "You catch anything?"

"No." She pouted. "But Riku did!"

"Oh really?" He sat up and looked at him. "That's surprising. I doubt Sora would ever have been able to manage that when he was here."

"Well he never was one for patience."

"I'm actually surprised you got her to settle down enough that you could catch anything." Simba pulled Kiara closer as she had began stalking Riku's tail again.

Riku nodded. "She was the teacher after all."

He was managing to keep up with the conversation, but Nala saw how distracted he seemed. "Perhaps you have some place to be?"

"Huh?" Riku looked over at the calm lioness. "Oh. Well there were a few more places on the list to check."

"Still no sign of him?" Simba asked quietly.

Riku shook his head. "Not yet."

"You'll find him."

"Yeah. With my luck he's probably sleeping again." Riku sighed. "I'll be sure to visit again."

Kiara protested that her new friend needed to stay. But once he had reassured her that they would go hunting again she 'allowed' him to leave.

Back in his Gummi ship he stretched his limbs thankful that he was fully human again.

But he was stuck with the dilemma of where to search next now.

Deciding that a visit to Halloween Town was well over due he made his way there next.

* * *

"How is Sally?" Riku asked Jack as they strolled through the graveyard.

"Sally?" Jack tilted his head to the side. "Oh right! She lost her arm when you were here last didn't she? She is just fine! Quite the seamstress you know."

"She just _sewed_ her arm back on?"

"That's how the Doctor made her originally so it makes sense that she can be mended that way. It's completely logical!"

_Not really…_ Riku sighed. "But since then there has been no disturbances?"

"None! Which seems a bit boring sometimes. But we are supposed to be planning for next Halloween… So I can't _really_ complain. Though I would love the distraction." He gave a skeleton grin.

"Yeah. Sometimes a distraction is nice." He agreed thinking of his time hunting in the Pride Lands.

"Don't worry about Sora." Jack rested his long bony fingers on his shoulder. "He has helped us out of many tight spots. He has a talent for finding them and getting out of them."

Riku nodded. "Thanks Jack."

"Anytime! Now! I want you to come see the exploding pumpkins we have set up at the town hall."

As tempted as he was to tell Jack that he didn't have time for that, he allowed the tall Pumpkin King to drag him off toward the Town Square.

* * *

Opening his eyes blearily Sora tried to recall falling asleep. The fact that he was lying in the middle of the cell instead of his usual place to sleep was a good indicator that his trip to unconsciousness had been involuntary.

"Oh good. You're not dead."

He tried to turn his head in the direction of the too familiar voice, but his neck hurt so much he chose to give up on that plan.

"I realized that you weren't actually dead of course. That smell would never leave this room if you were. But I wasn't completely sure if you would wake on your own. So, bravo to you."

Sora grunted. Apparently his voice box was also choosing not to work. As were his lungs, as they were burning something fierce in his chest.

"In case you don't remember, which I have a feeling you don't, we were testing out my new cuffs. However, it seems like they were a bit faulty. Nearly burned your arms right off."

Rolling his eyes downward to look at his bare arms he noticed the raw skin from said burn.

"I am so nice I am giving your arms a chance to grow new skin before I put the new cuffs on. Mainly because if you die from an infection I will be thoroughly annoyed. But take what you can as they say."

Who says that? Sora wanted to argue. But he was just too tired.

The man had left; he heard the opening and closing of the dark corridor.

_Riku? Where are you?_


	8. Rescue

It had been too long.

Months.

And still not a sign of Sora.

The darkest part of his heart was morbidly pushing into his mind telling him that there was no possible way his best friend was still alive. And if he were, that he wouldn't be the same. He'd seen him at his worst. On all fours, fighting viciously like a wild beast. But that wasn't Sora. It was something possessing him.

But this was Sora. He would  _know_ if something like that had happened. He wasn't sure how, but he just would. 

He'd spoken with Kairi off and on mostly just to keep her updated on his lack of progress, which he knew she was passing on to Mickey. And though he had broken that tracker that Chip and Dale had placed on his ship he was sure that they had devised a new way to track him. They were smarter than they looked.

The chime of a new message was a welcome distraction from his gloomy thoughts. It was from an unknown sender, but he opened it anyway.

**? - he's in the ruins of Oblivion**

He? That had to be Sora. And did this person mean Castle Oblivion? Who was this? Only Mickey, DiZ, the Organization XIII members, and himself knew of that place. Right?

**Riku – Who are you?**

The reply was almost instantaneous.

**? – a friend of a friend**

A friend of a friend? That could be almost anyone. Sora knew so many people there was no way to keep up with all of them. But the benefit to him having so many friends out there was that more people would also be keeping an ear to the ground. What did it hurt to try Castle Oblivion? It never occurred to him to even look there. Ironic as it was, he had kind of forgotten the place existed. Despite everything that had already happened in that cursed place. At this point he had nothing to lose. 

* * *

The Castle was as empty and white as it had always been. It wasn't like Naminé's room at the Haunted Mansion in Twilight Town. That room had felt oddly comfortable to him. A small space the girl had made as her own and had often encouraged him to visit her and have little talks. But Castle Oblivion… had felt like a hospital in its white sterile environment, and as welcoming as a prison.

The issue with this Castle was its many floors. Did he start from top to bottom? Or vice versa?

This person seemed to have a bad sense of humor, as he recalled, and keeping a prisoner in the basement felt _too_ cliché.

So that's where he headed first.

The worst part of the place he had always thought was how empty it was. Not even a shadow heartless crossed his path in these halls. Every movement made in here echoes loudly in the empty halls. Rarely did he truly feel alone, not since they had defeated Xemnas anyway. But here, within these walls, he had always felt that sense of loneliness. But he knew that it was part of the curse that was over this in-between place. Something terrible had happened here once, Mickey had told him, but he had never quite got the full story. The place was a shell of what it used to be, yet was still supposedly serving a purpose.

When he reached the last floor, he realized the change, since the last time he was there. There were several doors in this room; the center one seemed the obvious choice. A glowing chain pattern surrounded the door. The pattern itself seemed oddly familiar, almost nostalgic? But he couldn't remember from where. Stepping forward he tried to open it, but there was no handle, and it wouldn't budge. Much like the door on the Island in their Secret Place.

Summoning his Keyblade he tried to unlock it, but there was no response. Frowning he decided to check the other doors while considering other options of how to tackle this one. The first two on the left were empty white rooms. Across the room the third door revealed a laboratory of sorts. He was no science expert by any means. School had never been one of his strengths. But he flipped through a few of the books anyway and read some of the things that were labeled. None of it made sense except the journal that was labeled "Sora". Inside were very thorough reports of what this person had been doing with his friend. Tucking it away securely with his other items he made his way out of the room to the fourth door.

This one was also locked, but his Keyblade was more willing to help with this one.

Inside he found Sora.

His friend was on the floor and even thinner than he had seen him before. Rushing over he dropped to his knees to check his pulse and upon finding it released a relieved sigh he didn't know he had been holding. Tension that had built up over months of searching eased slightly. But now was not the time to relax, though he had found his friend now, he was far from safe. His hands shook slightly as he ran them along his friend's body searching for any broken bones.

Sora looked awful. His skin wasn't just pale, it seemed translucent. There were deep blackish blue rings under his eyes, and his clothes were so baggy that he looked like a child in them. His normally so spikey hair was a mix of matted and greasy disaster against his scalp. Heavy shackles attached his wrists to the floor, which Riku was only too glad to dispose of. Gingerly lifting his best friend into his arms he debated opening a corridor in the darkness to get them back to the ship. He really didn't want to risk running into that guy again… especially in here.

No. Nothing would stop him from getting Sora home safely now. His friend was dying in his arms. And last time, like every time, he had tried to use the darkness, it ended up working against him. They _would_ make it back to the ship.

This felt too easy. He was tensed and ready for a trap. But it never came.

As he exited the room he glanced at the mysterious door again.

If Sora wasn't in it, and the lab wasn't in it, what _was_ behind that door? And why was it so important?

That was a question for another time.

He hurried toward the exit.

* * *

On the ship he laid Sora on one of the cots and gave him an elixir along with something called a phoenix down. He wasn't sure what the brightly colored item was exactly, but the woman, Aerith, had suggested he take a few the last time he had visited them a month ago. She had been insistent that it would help much more than any potion he probably would have on hand.

Instantly some of the color returned to Sora's face, but he still looked awful.

"Ri-Riku?" Sora muttered, his eyes still closed.

"Hey. I'm here." Riku pulled a chair over, brushing some of the hair that was slicked to his cheeks back. "You're safe now. It's just us, and we're on my ship."

Sora looked like he was trying to smile, but it was more of a twitch of his lips. "Hmm. I knew you'd come. I told him it would be you."

"Well someone's got to be looking out for you. Idiot."

"Yeah yeah. Big scary Riku coming to save the day again…" Sora sighed, but it sounded more content then tired.

"Does anything hurt?" Riku looked him over for injuries.

The only thing he could see that looked bad was his wrists and forearms. They were so raw he could tell that if Sora weren't so dehydrated he would be bleeding more likely.

Dehydrated. Water.

He stepped away for a second to reach into a cooler and pull out a water bottle.

"Nothing hurts… but… why is it so dark?" Sora's head moved like he was trying to look around.

Riku frowned. "Because you're eyes are closed stupid." Opening the water bottle he cradled his head and let him take a few sips slowly. He saw Sora's eyelids move, but they wouldn't open. "Hey – open your eyes."

"I'm trying…" Sora muttered.

On closer inspection Riku found some sort of yellow mush covering his eyelids, evidently keeping them shut. "Oh… just wait a minute…" Stepping into the bathroom he found a rag and filled a cup with warm water, before returning to his seat next to Sora.

"Hey Riku… am I blind?" He sounded nervous.

Who wouldn't be?

"No. Hold on. There's crap covering your eyes. I'm going to try and wipe it off. Don't freak out or anything."

Sora frowned. Crap covering his eyes? Oh. Right…

* * *

_That man was back. He was mad again. The experiment went wrong. Sora should be_ _**grateful** _ _for some reason or another. It was the same song and dance he had been spewing for what felt like years now._

" _I don't know why it's so hard for you to just accept the darkness!"_

" _Its not hard to accept it," Sora attempted a shrug, though he suspected it was more of a cringe. "In fact, it would be stupidly easy. I just don't like it."_

" _You. Just. Don't. Like. It." The man was quiet for a suspiciously long amount of time after that. Just standing there staring at him._

_Sora went back to counting cracks in the ceiling._

" _You are such a spoiled brat." The man said neutrally, like it was just a fact and he should have realized it sooner. "Fine. I'll teach you to like the darkness. Because it's all you'll ever have now."_

* * *

The 'crap' covering his eyes was a paste that he had painted over Sora's eyes to keep him in the darkness.

He couldn't see, but he could feel Riku's calloused hand carefully holding his face in place as he used a wet rag to wipe gently at his eyes. Part of him thought he should be scared of the fact that he couldn't see.

But he was just too tired to work himself up to it.

And there was no point.

Riku was here.

Riku had saved him. Just like he knew he would.

"There." Riku inspected the eyelids closely once more to be sure the substance was completely gone. "You should be able to… wait don't open them yet."

He quickly dimmed the lighting in the area so that it wasn't too bright, but just enough that he could still see.

"Alright. Try to open them now."

Those bright blue eyes were so incredibly dull compared to how they used to shine. They moved around lazily as if trying to focus, before stopping in Riku's general direction.

"Well? How is it?"

"Its… blurry." Sora admitted. "Like I can still tell that you are in front of me, and I see a general shape, but its super hazy. I wouldn't know the difference between if it was you or Leon without you speaking."

"Not good… but maybe you just need time to adjust."

"Yeah. Maybe." Sora attempted another smile. He really felt like this one made it through.

At Sora's grimace of an expression Riku shook his head. "I'm going to warp us back to Yen Sid's ok? He'll be able to do more than me. And they have real food there."

Sora shook his head. "No… Where's Kairi?"

"She stayed to keep training last I heard."

"I want to go to Radiant Garden."

"Why?"

"Aerith and Leon… I think they can help."

He really didn't know much about the man, and though the woman was kind, she seemed a bit crazy in Riku's personal opinion.

"You'd rather see them than the Master?"

"Yeah."

He debated it for a moment, but then gave in. Sora knew them better than him. He'd have to trust him on this one.

"Alright."

* * *

"He's going to be fine."

Riku looked up from where he'd been staring at the floor and toward the voice. It was someone he hadn't seen here before, but everyone else seemed happy around him. Though he wasn't sure why. The guy looked pretty intimidating, even to Riku's standards.

At Riku's slightly confused expression the blonde man smirked. "I'm Cloud. Trust me. Aerith is the best."

Riku nodded. "I don't know her really. But Sora trusts her."

Cloud snorted in response.

"Though Sora is a little too trusting for his own good." Riku admitted.

"That's for sure, he tried to befriend me, while I was trying to kill him."

Well. That seemed like something that needed to be addressed… But he decided not to touch it. Clearly this Cloud guy had some issues. But when Riku had brought Sora into Radiant Garden he had been one of the first to respond and prepare a room for Aerith to work in.

The woman herself appeared in the doorway. "Hey Riku, he's asking for you."

Getting to his feet he stepped up, stopping when the gentle woman placed a hand on his shoulder. "Physically he will be back to normal in a month or so."

"And mentally?"

Her kind eyes looked over his shoulder at Cloud. "Did you call him?"

Cloud sighed. "Yes. Well, I left him a message. He'll be here."

Riku raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Don't worry, a friend of ours."

"You guys sure have a lot of friends." He muttered before going into Sora's room.

As the door shut Sora instantly perked up and looked over in his direction. "See! I told you Aerith could handle it." He grinned.

Shaking his head he dropped onto the bed next to his legs. "Yeah? You can see now?"

"Yep! I don't know what she did, some kind of special water or something. Cleared my sight right up." He frowned. "I also think she made me eat a flower."

"You _think_ she did? You don't _know_?"

"Well it was mixed in with this really good soup…"

"And you're such a garbage disposal you just inhaled without paying attention?"

"Shut up. It was good soup… But when I finished there was like a flower stem and some leaves at the bottom."

"You have some weird friends out there."

Sora chuckled. "Yeah… they are a bit different. But definitely not weirder than Genie… talk about strange. Or that Cheshire Cat. Most the time he was just a grinning head." As he was talking he had leaned back and shut his eyes.

"Go to sleep idiot. You're delirious."

"No… its truuuue." Sora whined.

"Of course it is."

A soft snore was all he got in reply.

On the opposite side of the room a cot had been set up with a pillow and blanket for him, and he really considered taking it. But he knew he had a couple of calls to make first.


	9. Help From a Friend of a Friend

Sora was back on his feet in no time at all. To help him recover his stamina along with a healthy weight Riku chose to stay with him in Radiant Garden.

Not because Aerith said to stay.

She didn't intimidate him at all.

When she had made the 'suggestion' Sora had just agreed, as go lucky as ever. Riku had been about to protest, to remind everyone that Sora and he should be getting back to Yensid's Tower. But Aerith had this look in her eyes that wasn't allowing arguments. A quick glance over at Leon and Cloud, who both gave slight shakes to their heads, convinced Riku that maybe they could stay for a few weeks.

Till Sora was better at least.

This morning they had gotten up, ate the breakfast that Aerith had provided, then gone outside to workout and spar. This had been the routine everyday for almost two weeks now. Sometimes Yuffie, Leon, Tifa, or even Cloud would join them for a few rounds. It was this morning however that Riku felt that Sora was back to his old self. Swift, strong, and as almost confident as before.

Almost.

Something was still holding him back.

While they were in town buying ingredients for dinner with the list Aerith had provided Riku decided it was as good a time as any to bring the topic up.

"You seem better." It was an obvious statement, but he had known Sora for years and it didn't take much to get him going.

"Yeah! I feel great! I'll probably beat you tomorrow, no problem." He gave a wide grin.

"We'll see."

"But…"

"But?"

"Well I do kinda have this one little problem."

Finally. "What's that?"

"When… that guy had me," Sora hesitated shifting the bags of groceries from one hand to another. "I was consumed with darkness. But it wasn't just… I don't know. I had no control Riku. I was more of a beast than human. What if… he just _enhanced_ that, but I had that inside me all along?"

"Hmm…" That was a valid question. One that Riku had thought over a lot himself since he had first seen Sora attacking with claw like hands standing on all fours. "I think, that inside each of us is the potential for darkness to take over." He finally spoke up. "But it's the choices we make, and the things we believe in that effects how strongly we let the darkness take control."

They had stopped at an overlook to talk, setting the bags down for a moment.

"Sora, you have the strongest light I've ever seen. So it stands to reason, that should you turn to darkness, you would be a force to contend with. Not that I couldn't handle it." He smirked slightly before looking back at the scenery. "But you choose the light. Even when the darkness had control of you… and you didn't look like yourself, it was still you. You called to me. You didn't _want_ to hurt anyone. That's how I know. No matter what, you'll be ok. Whatever happens, we'll pull through."

Sora had been leaning over the railing watching the fountains glitter in the setting sun's light. "Yeah. Thanks Riku."

"Touching."

Spinning around they saw a tall man with long dark hair that was just barely being kept out of his eyes by a crimson bandana, he was dressed in black with a matching crimson cape and cowl. A large gold gauntlet came up to his elbow on one of his hands.

"Who are you?" Sora demanded.

"A friend of Cloud's." The man's soft voice replied.

"I think he meant a name." Riku was trying hard not to summon his Keyblade despite this man's claims of being an ally.

"I am looking for - "

"VINCENT?!"

They turned to see Yuffie running up to them. The young ninja leapt at the tall man to embrace him. Vincent stood stiffly, giving her a reluctant pat on the head.

"Hello again Yuffie."

"We've been waiting for you _forever_!"

"I ran into some complications."

"Sure you did!" She laughed. "Hey! You two! Get those ingredients to Aerith already." She turned on them suddenly.

"But who is - " Sora started.

"We're leaving." Riku grabbed the bags shoving one into his friend's arms before dragging him away.

"I've never seen him around here before." Sora muttered turning to look at the man who was patiently listening to Yuffie's rambling.

"He said he was a friend of theirs."

"But… did you feel it?"

"The darkness?"

"Yeah." The brunette nodded. "Like it wasn't all wild like the darkness usually feels… it was…"

"Like it was hibernating."

"Yeah! Weird right?"

Riku nodded. "Definitely unusual."

* * *

"Sora! Calm down." Leon sighed.

"I was gonna help set the table!"

"Aerith doesn't need your help kid." Cid grunted from over by his computer.

"But - !"

Riku dragged him into the chair next to him. "Just sit."

The exaggeration of the pout didn't go unnoticed by anyone, but everyone chose to hide their amused grins when the brunette muttered a reluctant, "Fine."

The food had just been laid out when the door creaked open.

"Vincent!" Yuffie leapt to her feet jarring the table. "Where've you been?!"

"Yuffie, don't knock over the table." Leon sighed.

"Join us for a meal." Aerith gestured to the empty spot next to Riku.

Crimson eyes looked over Riku, before shifting to the spot where Sora was not so subtly sneaking bits of food.

"You are the one?"

The younger Keyblade wielder blinked. "Sure. Wait – what?"

"Come on then." There was a flair of the cape and the man was back out the door.

"Uh… should I?" He looked uncertainly around the table.

Aerith was chastising Yuffie for spilling over one of the glasses, but Leon nodded in his direction.

"He won't wait long. He's worse than Cloud."

"Excuse me?" The blonde grunted carrying a particularly large pot from the kitchen.

"Oh I forgot that one!" Aerith hurried over to help him find somewhere to set it.

Having come to some sort of decision Sora hurried out the door.

Half way through the meal Riku finally sighed. "Is that guy really going to be any help?"

"If anyone can fix that particular issue… its him." Cloud informed him.

"That's not exactly reassuring."

* * *

Riku had offered to help Aerith with the dishes when he felt the spike of darkness flare up. He heard someone call him, but it didn't matter. That man from before was bad news. He knew it. Something had felt wrong.

And it's not like Sora can't handle this sort of thing by himself.

Sora was strong.

But that didn't mean that Riku wasn't going to help in any way he could.

Upon arriving in the Great Maw he saw what he had suspected and feared all along. The man in red was standing over Sora, who was once again transformed into the beast like creature.

"Sora!"

Keyblade in hand, Riku charged over swiping at the man that clearly could _not_ be trusted. Vincent smoothly dodged out of the way but remained nearby as the Keyblade Master turned back toward his friend ready to try and talk him out of whatever it was that was possessing him.

But this Sora was different. Instead of the Heartless-esque eyes they now glowed bright orange. The tendrils of darkness still emanated from skin, but his hands had retained their form holding a darkened version of his Keyblade, rather than turning into claws. While still seeming restless he was not on all fours fidgeting like a wild animal. This version was more controlled. This was still Sora.

"Now Sora, reach inside and summon that last thread of strength."

There was a moment of stillness before the younger Keyblade leapt away from Riku a pulse of darkness flaring out. When he landed he seemed slightly more edgy moving about a little more impatiently. The newest addition however were the three crystal like hearts floating around him.

"Now attack." Vincent's voice gave little warning before he appeared above them pulling a gun to attack.

Riku neatly dodged preparing himself to protect his friend, but Sora had disappeared. Only to reappear inches from the man in red and slam him to the ground with enough force to crack the stone beneath them.

"Sora. That's enough."

Turning his head, Riku recognized Leon and Cloud running toward the clearing. Yuffie and Aerith not too far behind.

Returning back to his normal self, Sora snapped. "What?! He shot at Riku!"

"After giving a warning and attacking slow enough for you both to clearly see it coming." Leon pointed out.

"If Vincent had wanted to kill him, he would be dead." Cloud shrugged.

"That's what you think." Riku muttered stepping over to inspect his friend.

Everything looked alright. He didn't even feel the weird dark presence from a moment ago.

"So… it was just part of the training?"

"I'd say you passed." Vincent replied having gotten to his feet only to have Aerith step over and start fussing over the bruise growing on his cheek while Yuffie laughed that a kid had taken him down so quickly.

"Sweet! I feel so much better too!" Sora cheered punching a fist in to the air.

Riku had to admit, he really did look better. Sure, he was still not as strong as he was when they had defeated Xemnas, but mentally his friend seemed healed.

"You look well enough to go back to the Tower."

"Yeah. I can't wait to tell Kairi! She'll be so glad to know that we figured this out!"

"I bet she will."

"Thanks for all your guys' help!" Sora ran over to give his goodbyes as Riku summoned his Gummi Ship.

"Don't be a stranger." Yuffie waved.

"We're always here for you." Aerith smiled as she hugged him.

"You've helped us out plenty of times, so we probably owe you a few more." Leon nodded.

"But just a few." Cloud muttered.

"And thanks again." Sora offered a hand to the tall newcomer. "I really don't know how you knew exactly how to do that. But I really appreciate your help."

Vincent awkwardly shook his hand before rolling his eyes at Yuffie's giggling.

"Ready to go?" He ran over to where Riku was standing by the door to the ship.

"I've been waiting for you."

Sora chuckled. "Oh, right. Sorry."

"Just get in."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is The End guys! Thanks to all of you who made it this far! And extra big thanks to those who have left kudos and comments! I may or may not add an Epilogue to this later. But for now, this is it! Hope you liked it as much as I liked writing it! :)


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